Coats of arms originated in 12th century Europe as devices
on shields and surcoats. Their purpose was to identify armored
knights and their followers in battle. The coats of arms and
later crests and mottos evolved into a non-military identification
of families.

Irish families do not seem to have used coats of arms earlier
than the 16th century. How these devices came to be used in Ireland
is not clear. According to Sir Dermot MacDermot, the earliest
representation of the MacDermot coat of arms appears on a 1617
Grant from King James I to Brian Og MacDermot. See pages 520-523
MacDermot of Moylurg (1997).

The coats of arms of the MacDermot and MacDermot Roe families
are the same:

The crests of the families are sometimes described as a boar's
head and at other times as a demi-lion rampant.

While the MacDermots and MacDermots Roe have the same coat
of arms, the families have different Latin mottos. These evidently
were adopted later since they do not appear on the older coats
of arms.

The MacDermot Roe motto is "Honor Probataque Virtus"
which means "Honor and Proven (demonstrated) manliness".
The MacDermot motto is "Honore et Virtute" meaning
"Honor and Virtue". Many thanks to Peter McDearmon
Witt for translating the Latin to English.

From his study of Irish heraldry, Sir Dermot concludes that
Coats of Arms and Crests were of minor importance to ancient
gaelic families such as ours. He speculates that Irish who were
educated by the English in the 17th century may have acquired
an interest in heraldry as an aristocratic status symbol.

Nontheless, symbols are powerful methods of communicating
identity and purpose. In this light, we have added the motto
"Justice and Charity" to the MacDermot Roe, Biatach's
website banner. The motto refers to the MacDermot Roe service
as Biatach, the official responsible for caring for the poor
and homeless in the Kingdom of Connaught. The MacDermot's Roe
service as Biatach represents a commitment to the ideal of charity
and social justice. It deserves to be recalled.